: Like any weightloss diet, this diet is no substitute for medical advice. For example, if youare pregnant, or if you have a medical condition, or if you are allergic tocertain foods, then the suggestions contained in this diet should not befollowed without first consulting your doctor. The author of this diet cannotaccept responsibility for illness arising out of the failure to seek suchmedical advice. If in doubt, please see your doctor.

RULE NO 1.Choose 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 main meal and 1 dessert, off the diet, every dayAlso, make sure you have 4 helpings of fruit (fresh/frozen/canned in juice), every day: i.e. if you eat meals containing two helpings of fruit, eat an additional2 helpings.

RULE NO 2. Follow the instructions for each mealBut use your common sense. For example, you may choose different vegetables or spices, but you must stick to the basic recipes. In particular, you must stick to (a) the cooking method; (b) the quantity of cheese/nuts/eggs; (c) the quantity of vegetables.

RULE NO 4. Use only a very light covering of soft margarine on your breadChoose a brand which is low in saturated and hydrogenated fat.

RULE NO 5. When frying – use a non-stick pan and either use PAM fat-free spray, or dry-fry using fat-free ingredients like lemon juice, soy sauce and water instead of fat. The less fat you use, the better.

RULE NO 6. Use only low-fat cheese, fat-free milk and fat-free yogurtRemember, fat is a major cause of coronary heart disease.

RULE NO 7. Eat no more than 6 egg yolks a week (egg whites are fine)Egg yolks are a good food, but eating them too often is fattening and may be unhealthy.

RULE NO 8. If you are still hungry after you have eaten your full daily allowance – you may eat something extra from the snacksection, below. This may slow down your weight-loss, but it’s much better to eat a little more than to go hungry. Hunger is still the No 1 diet-killer.

RULE NO 9. Avoid foods not listed on the dietFor example, (except where specified) avoid all high-fat foods, like pastries, candy, cookies, potato chips, peanuts, fries, coleslaw, butter, margarine, hard cheese, cream & mayo. Also, please avoid high sugar foods, like sweets, cakes, frosted or candy-coated cereals and non-diet soft drinks. If you can’t do this without going insane, then after 4 weeks you may start to treat yourself occasionally, although this may slow down your weight-loss. Meanwhile, you must avoid them.

RULE NO 10. Alcohol – Please limit yourself to no more than 6-8 units per weekPlease note: One unit = ½ pint of beer, 1 glass of wine or 1 short (with Diet mixer).

RULE NO 11. DINING OUT – Please keep this to a minimum. Many vegetarian options are hi-fat! Always choose low-fat meals and avoid all fried foods, fatty sauces and dressings.

MeasurementsThe standard American Cup measurement is used throughout the diet. This is equivalent to the standard-size mug, containing 8 fluid ounces. So 1 cup = 1 mug.

Help LineIf you have any questions, or queries, please use my 365-day Help Line. Simply email:help@annecollins.com. I’ll be delighted to help in any way I can.

This is a serious eating-plan for people who want to lose weight.It is not a fairy storyI don’t have time for fairystories and I’m sure you don’t, either. Which is why this is a serious eating-plan, with serious rules. If you followthem carefully, you’ll develop lots of new eating habits which will help you tolose weight and stay slim for life. If you don’t, you won’t. Some diets make allsorts of false promises: mine doesn’t.

QUICKTIP No 4 – DON’T EAT LESS – EAT DIFFERENTLY Many slimmers try to lose weight by eating less. This is a big mistake. Why? Because when we eat less, we get hungry and when we get hungry we get miserable and when we get miserable we want to cheer ourselves up  so we eat a packet of cookies, or a bar of candy. Result? Goodbye diet! My advice: Lose weight by eating more (but different!). The safest way to lose weight is to fill your stomach with lots of good food. You see, when were full of food we are much less tempted by things like cookies and doughnuts. Remember: its not how much we eat, its what we eat that counts.

Make up your own smoothies: Use 100% fruit juice and fruit – no fats, proteins etc. Use 1 cup juice to 1 cup fruit. It’s one of the most nutritious foods you can possibly make – and it’s perfect for weight loss!

Test your own recipes!Try out your own recipes based on the above.It’s the easiest way to make friends with fruit.

COFFEEFrom a slimming viewpoint, coffee is fine. Add 1 tsp sugar, if you must. Sweeteners are NO better.Ideally, drink more water, or 100% fruit juices (not Juice drinks – they are full of sugar) or smoothies.

QUICKTIP No 5 – DIETING DOESN’T MEAN DEPRIVATIONIts always the same! One day, we cant get into a particular skirt or someone passes a comment on our weight and suddenly we become overwhelmed with depression. Why? Because we realize weve got to start dieting! And immediately we think of all the nice things were going to miss: i.e. cookies, candy, cakes, pastries and so on. So right from the start, we think of dieting as deprivation. We think we have to give up all our pleasures. But this is nonsense! Why? Because I have never met one single slimmer who got any pleasure out of being overweight.

My advice: Stop kidding yourself that dieting means depriving yourself of pleasure. The truth is: dieting isnt about depriving yourself or making yourself miserable. On the contrary, its about making yourself LESS MISERABLE, LESS TIRED, MORE RELAXED and MUCH MORE CONFIDENT!

DESSERT – TO FINISHAfter each of the above meals, eat 1 piece of fresh fruit, or 1 cup frozen fruit.If you are too full, save your dessert for later.

Do you have a favorite lunch that you’d like to keep eating, if possible?No problem. Simply contact Anne for advice. Email: help@annecollins.com

QUICKTIP No 6 – BOREDOM MAKES US EATBADLY

Boredom makes us fed up. Result? We eat! For example, according to a recent survey of eating habits, about 480 million packets of potato chips are eaten in the UK every year out of sheer boredom. The moral? Dont get bored! Dont fall into a rut. And if you’re in one already, pull yourself out of it!My advice: Change your routines: e.g. wear something different – get a new hair style – get a new job – join a library – play new games with the kids – join a class or learn something new – keep a diary – get involved in group activities – find a hobby – paint your room a different color – design or make something. In other words, find something new to interest you and keep you occupied.

SNACKSExtra hungry during the day? Try one of these snacks.Note: This may slow down your weight loss but it’s much better to eat a little too much than to go hungry.

CEREALDon’t limit yourself to the same old cereal, always keep a good variety in stock. To avoid waste, buy individual packs. Avoid high calorie cereals like rich muesli,grape-nuts, sugar-coated, or cereals with a high nut content. Check the packs and choose brands with the lowest fat and sugar content.

SNACK MEALS

Beans on toast

Boiled egg and toast

Broiled/ sautéed tomatoes/ mushrooms on toast

Any fat-free soup

Toasted pitta bread with lentils and salad

Low-fat cheese spread on toast

Vegetarian ham and mustard on light rye bread

Vegetarian bologna with cucumber and relish in wholemeal bread

2 light waffles with 1 tbsp light syrup and 1 chopped banana

1 vegetarian hot dog in a roll with mustard

1 Boca burger in a wholemeal bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and salsa.

QUICKTIP No 7 – THE CUCUMBER TRICKWhy are we fat? Because we eat too much of the wrong sort of food. In particular, we eat too much fat. One way to reduce our fat intake is to use less spread on our bread. For example, when making yourself a sandwich, dont automatically put a layer of spread on your bread, put a layer of sliced cucumber on it, instead. Cucumber keeps the bread moist without filling you full of calories! I use this trick all the time and so do several of my most successful slimmers.

TOOL UP FOR HEALTHY SNACKS!We eat whatever we find in the fridge. So if your fridge is full of junk food, that’s what you’ll eat. The moral? Get rid of the junk and replace it with healthy snack food.

Buy chopped vegetables and greens for salads.Buy cooked potato (or keep lots of cold boiled potato in the fridge).Buy lots of fat-free soups, (or make your own – see Soups, below ).Buy low-fat or fat-free cheese; buy lots of different flavored cottage cheese.Buy vegetarian ham, bologna, pepperoni and pack into pitta bread with lots of salad.Buy fat-free hummus, bean dips, fat-free salsa (or make your own – see recipes p .xxx)Buy a variety of fresh and frozen fruit. (* Put slices of apple on toast, sprinkle with sugar and grill)Buy lots of fat-free yogurt, and keep a tub of fat-free yogurt/sorbet/ ice-cream in the freezer.Buy lots of fruit canned in juice.Always have bananas and cucumbers in. ( * Try mashed banana on a slice of hot toast)Buy a variety of low-fat relishes, pickles and salsa.Buy lots of low-fat, low-sugar cereals and fat-free milk.

QUICKTIP No 8 – HOW TO SAY NO TO CANDY

Theres a candy bar in front of you. How do you cope? Follow these 5 steps:1. Leave the bar where it is, go to the kitchen and fetchyourself a banana.2. Eat the banana. Still want the candy? If so, fetch yourself afat-free yogurt.3. Eat the yogurt. Still want the candy? If so, fetch yourself abig bowl of cereal with fat-free milk.4. Eat the cereal. Still want the candy? If so, make yourself asandwich with preserves.5. Eat the sandwich. Still want the candy? Then eat it!.

Nine times out of ten, by the time youve eaten all thisfood, you wont have the slightest interest in eating the candy! Oh, and dontworry about eating all this food: its very good for you.

PATE, DIPS AND SPREADS

As lunchServe 2oz with 2 slices wholemeal toast/rolls, PLUS large vegetable salad.As main mealServe 4oz with a large bowl of home-made soup, PLUS baked potato and a large salad.

NAVY BEAN AND BASIL SPREAD (or, any white beans)Ingredients: 14 ounce can navy beans, drained and rinsed, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper, ½ cup chopped fresh basil.Method: Put all the ingredients, except the basil, in a blender and process to a rough mixture. Add the basil, use a fork to mix them in then blend for a second.

CURRIED MILLET PATEIngredients: ¾ cup millet, 2 cups hot water, ½ tsp mild curry powder, 1 tbsp roughly chopped mixed nuts, 1 tbsp raisins, salt and pepper.Method: Put millet in a strainer and rinse thoroughly. Put it in a saucepan, cover with hot water and stir over a moderate heat until it boils. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Mix the remaining ingredients together and stir into the millet. Serve hot or cold.

SOUPS

As lunchEnjoy 1½ cups of soup with 2 slices wholemeal bread OR a lunch sandwich from Lunches, above.As main mealEnjoy 2 cups as a main meal and add a baked potato (see page 3 for toppings) and large salad.

VEGETABLE SOUP – (use these, or your own favorite vegetables)Ingredients: 2 carrots chopped, 1 large onion chopped, 5 sliced tomatoes, 2 sliced zucchini, large head broccoli (inc. stalk).Method: Place all the ingredients in large pan with 2-3 chopped cloves of garlic. Add enough water to cover. Bring to boil, then simmer for 20 mins. Puree contents in blender, then return them to saucepan, adding water if necessary. Reheat & serve.

QUICKTIP No 9 – BE MORE GREEDY!

What do you get from eating a bar of candy or a packet ofpotato chips? Answer: about 5 minutes of pleasure. The same goes for a doughnut,2-3 cookies or a piece of cake. So, in practice, if you have 4 fattening treatsa day, you can expect about 20 minutes worth of happiness. Unfortunately, inreturn for this 20 minutes worth of pleasure, we pay a very high price.

We put on weight, lose our figure and end up hiding ourselvesaway under shapeless skirts and pants. Soon, walking, shopping and going outbecome chores instead of pleasures. Finally, we lose our confidence andsometimes our health. All because we want 20 minutes ofhappiness.

My advice: Be more greedy! Next time you are tempted byjunk food, just say to yourself: No thanks! 5 minutes of happiness isntenough. I want more! I want a lifetime of happiness which comes fromhaving a shapely, fit body. I want a lifetime of happiness, not just 20 minutesworth!